Author
Topic: Door to Door Roofers~ (Read 16550 times)

My personal policy for dealing with door-to-door contractors - you insult my home, you don't get my business. That covers pretty much everyone. If I need work done, and can afford it, I will contact a business directly.

I no longer feel rude telling these guys that. After all, they were the ones offering unsolicited help to "fix" my house in the first place.

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Life happens wherever you are, whether you make it or not. - Uncle Iroh

My personal policy for dealing with door-to-door contractors - you insult my home, you don't get my business. That covers pretty much everyone. If I need work done, and can afford it, I will contact a business directly.

I no longer feel rude telling these guys that. After all, they were the ones offering unsolicited help to "fix" my house in the first place.

That has always been my way of thinking as well. IF I need a particular service , I can research it myself.

Have there been any natural disasters in your area recently? (Not necessarily just in your neighborhood, but in your county?) Whenever we have tornadoes or hailstorms, the roofing companies come out in force. There are a handful which are local, of course, but fly-by-night companies show up and do door-to-door sales as well. Some of them may even be good companies, but we decided to go with one who keeps an office in town! That way if there's a problem, we know where to find them . . .

(Although I will say, advice to people who buy a house in my area is "It doesn't matter how old the roof is." Because it's true - we get enough hail and tornado damage that most homes will re-roof at least once every ten years anyway. On the other hand, it's really important to have an insurance deductible you can actually afford to pay!)

I would NEVER hire someone who came to my home soliciting their services. Not a painter, roofer or even landscaper. They are going door to door for a reason. To snag unsuspecting people. They may not be licensed or they might have bad reviews.

They could also be casing the house under the guise of checking the roof or siding.

Have there been any natural disasters in your area recently? (Not necessarily just in your neighborhood, but in your county?) Whenever we have tornadoes or hailstorms, the roofing companies come out in force. There are a handful which are local, of course, but fly-by-night companies show up and do door-to-door sales as well. Some of them may even be good companies, but we decided to go with one who keeps an office in town! That way if there's a problem, we know where to find them . . .

(Although I will say, advice to people who buy a house in my area is "It doesn't matter how old the roof is." Because it's true - we get enough hail and tornado damage that most homes will re-roof at least once every ten years anyway. On the other hand, it's really important to have an insurance deductible you can actually afford to pay!)

No , we haven't had any natural disasters here in a long time. Apparently they told my husband that they were working on another roof nearby. Their office (located on the business card they left) is pretty far from where I live, maybe 40 minutes or so, which is why it was strange they would stop by 3 separate times!

Have there been any natural disasters in your area recently? (Not necessarily just in your neighborhood, but in your county?) Whenever we have tornadoes or hailstorms, the roofing companies come out in force. There are a handful which are local, of course, but fly-by-night companies show up and do door-to-door sales as well. Some of them may even be good companies, but we decided to go with one who keeps an office in town! That way if there's a problem, we know where to find them . . .

(Although I will say, advice to people who buy a house in my area is "It doesn't matter how old the roof is." Because it's true - we get enough hail and tornado damage that most homes will re-roof at least once every ten years anyway. On the other hand, it's really important to have an insurance deductible you can actually afford to pay!)

No , we haven't had any natural disasters here in a long time. Apparently they told my husband that they were working on another roof nearby. Their office (located on the business card they left) is pretty far from where I live, maybe 40 minutes or so, which is why it was strange they would stop by 3 separate times!

Ah, the old 'we were in the neighborhood' line. Yeah, just no. Hubs needs to learn to say 'no thanks' whenever anyone tries to sell him anything. In a perky, cheerful tone. Over and over. And if they ring your doorbell again I'd tell them to go away and not come back. Then call the cops to report them. Soliciting insurance fraud must surely be a crime, no?

Have there been any natural disasters in your area recently? (Not necessarily just in your neighborhood, but in your county?) Whenever we have tornadoes or hailstorms, the roofing companies come out in force. There are a handful which are local, of course, but fly-by-night companies show up and do door-to-door sales as well. Some of them may even be good companies, but we decided to go with one who keeps an office in town! That way if there's a problem, we know where to find them . . .

(Although I will say, advice to people who buy a house in my area is "It doesn't matter how old the roof is." Because it's true - we get enough hail and tornado damage that most homes will re-roof at least once every ten years anyway. On the other hand, it's really important to have an insurance deductible you can actually afford to pay!)

No , we haven't had any natural disasters here in a long time. Apparently they told my husband that they were working on another roof nearby. Their office (located on the business card they left) is pretty far from where I live, maybe 40 minutes or so, which is why it was strange they would stop by 3 separate times!

Ah, the old 'we were in the neighborhood' line. Yeah, just no. Hubs needs to learn to say 'no thanks' whenever anyone tries to sell him anything. In a perky, cheerful tone. Over and over. And if they ring your doorbell again I'd tell them to go away and not come back. Then call the cops to report them. Soliciting insurance fraud must surely be a crime, no?

I REALLY wish my husband would say no thanks to these door to door sales people. I asked him why he stands there and listens for a long time and he says that he sees no harm in it and he wants to hear what they have to say. He says not everything is a scam. He just has no idea how to leave a situation like that. I think he finds it rude to say no thanks before they had a chance to say their speech. I tried to tell him his time is valuable too and he doesn't owe them anything.

OP, is there a reason your DH feels compelled to open the door to behin with (when he doesn't recognize the person)? I don't feel bad about ignoring the doorbell if it's a stranger or if I'm not expecting a service call.

Let's hope the guys who are selling unclaimed meat from their truck don't come by. That's a shady thing, too!

"As a kindness to you (you intrusive shady salesperson), I'm telling you I am not interested and you will be wasting your valuable time try to talk to me further or returning. (Now get the heck out of here!)"

Is that polite enough? Am I allowed to think the stuff in parenthesis?

I never answer the door if i'm not expecting someone but DH does. We're renting and he's been very pleasantly surprised that "Sorry, I can't authorize that, I rent." works wonders. Landscapers, painters, carpet cleaners, etc. - they leave and never come back. We plan to continue using it long after we've purchased another home!

I never answer the door if i'm not expecting someone but DH does. We're renting and he's been very pleasantly surprised that "Sorry, I can't authorize that, I rent." works wonders. Landscapers, painters, carpet cleaners, etc. - they leave and never come back. We plan to continue using it long after we've purchased another home!

I have. You are right, it does work well

I have a policy of never hiring people who come to the door. This may knock out a few honest people, but it knocks out even more scammers and poor quality companies. The one exception was a guy selling FIOS; I'd already done the research, just hadn't made the call yet.

OP, is there a reason your DH feels compelled to open the door to behin with (when he doesn't recognize the person)? I don't feel bad about ignoring the doorbell if it's a stranger or if I'm not expecting a service call.

Let's hope the guys who are selling unclaimed meat from their truck don't come by. That's a shady thing, too!

I think he only opens the door when he is caught off guard or if someone comes by when he is in the garage with the door open. I have no idea why he feels compelled to let them talk and waste his time. I asked him about it before and he says that he wants to hear what they have to say and not everything is a scam...